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How Adele’s Goofy Sense of Humor Helped Her Shatter Yet Another Record

Adele certainly didn’t need to break another record in order to impress us this year, but that’s exactly what she did. Thanks to her willingness to indulge her goofier side, Adele has landed the most-watched YouTube video in BBC’s history with her video “When Adele wasn't Adele... but was Jenny!”

The comedy bit from the Graham Norton-hosted BBC One special Adele at the BBC featured Adele in disguise as an Adele impersonator mixing and mingling with other Adele impersonators and has clocked over 37 million views in just two weeks. The previous record of 36.9 million views belonged to Alfonso Ribero, Will, and Jaden Smith for their joyous reenactment of the Carlton dance from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on The Graham Norton Show. (Norton must be pleased; he features in both the Adele and Fresh Prince videos.) Of course, it took Ribero and the Smiths two years to rack up that number and Adele did it in two weeks, but who’s counting?

Sure, it might seem a little silly to keep track of every little record Adele breaks at this point, but this particular video speaks to an intriguing aspect of the singer’s allure. The way she can swing from being one of the most famously soulful singers of her or any generation to being just a girl from Tottenham up for a laugh is how Adele delivers on the promise of having something for everyone. Her “When Adele wasn't Adele... but was Jenny!” sketch isn’t just funny, it’s also very touching. Watching those impersonators slowly become overwhelmed as they realize just who is serenading them wound up being, surprisingly, one of the most touching videos YouTube has produced this year. (And that’s saying a lot.) Funny and emotional? That's a perfect recipe for viral success as Adele’s record-shattering success continues to prove.